The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church by Gregory A. Boyd

Author:Gregory A. Boyd
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Religion - Christian Life, Christianity: General, Christianity, Religion, Constitution: government & the state, Political Science, Christian conservatism - United States, Church And Government, Political Ideologies, Politics & government, Evangelicalism - United States, Christian institutions & organizations, Protestant, Christian Life, Christianity and politics, Evangelicalism, Conservatism, Kingdom of God, Conservatism & Liberalism, Religion: general, Eschatology, General, Religion And Politics, Politics & State, Christian Life - Political Issues, Christian Theology
ISBN: 9780310267317
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2007-04-19T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

WHEN CHIEF SINNERS BECOME MORAL GUARDIANS

Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” while the log is in your own eye?

MATTHEW 7:1, 3–4

WE HAVE DISCUSSED THE HARM THAT THE MYTH OF A CHRISTIAN NATION does to global missions, local missions, and the church’s commitment to trust “power under” rather than “power over.” Now we need to discuss a fourth damaging consequence.

As we’ve seen, when people who are serious about their Christian faith buy into the myth that America is a Christian nation, they can easily conclude that it is their job to keep America as Christian as possible, if not restore America back to its supposed Christian heritage. As a result, they may intentionally or unintentionally position themselves as moral guardians of society, coming to believe it is their job to preserve and promote moral issues—and fix moral problems. They sometimes believe themselves to be the moral conscience of the nation, keeping society from cutting the tether to its Christian heritage and spinning out of control. In their minds, it makes sense to play the role of moral guardian—after all, they know the Scripture and, thus, know God’s will for society better than others.

While this view has been a basic assumption of a large portion of the American church throughout our history, I will argue that it is fundamentally misguided, even harmful to the advancement of the kingdom of God.

I believe there are at least five fundamental problems with this perspective.

THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS

First, as people called to mimic Jesus in every area of our lives, we should find it significant that Jesus never assumed the position of moral guardian over any individual, let alone over the culture at large. In his ministry, he never once inquired into a person’s moral status. (In a moment we’ll discuss his engagement with Jewish religious authorities.) While he certainly dealt with some disreputable people (e.g., John 4:5–29), never once did he judge them (John 8:15) or try to control their behavior. As the one sinless person in history, he was the only one who could have justifiably assumed a position of moral superiority over others; unlike the rest of us, he didn’t have tree trunks sticking out of his own eyes (Matt. 7:1–5)! But remarkably, he never adopted this position.

Why didn’t the sinless Jesus point out, condemn, and try to control people’s morality? It certainly wasn’t because people in his day were less sinful than they are today. By most reckonings, morality in Jesus’ day was a good bit worse than it is today. While we may get upset over a president having a sexual liaison with a young intern, for example, Roman rulers routinely engaged in outrageous sexual escapades. Yet, while Jesus certainly didn’t condone such behavior, we have no record of him so much as commenting on it.

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